Warm Winter Weather Brings Unseasonal Activity To Yosemite

Yosemite National Park is seeing summer-sized numbers of visitors, even on winter occasions like this past week-end's Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. The lack of snowfall has opened up much of the park to activities usually available only other seasons.

Yosemite Park Ranger Kari Cobb says visitors can explore more of the park than what would usually be open at this time of year.

"We've actually been able to open up these trails so what's normally closed has been opened up, unfortunately there is no skiing at the higher elevations but you can still hike to the higher elevations on those trails because they are open and clear and have no snow on them."

- Kari Cobb, Yosemite Park Ranger

But there are downsides. Mild temperatures and lack of snow mean many bears have skipped hibernation and are foraging for food and that can bring them into contact with people.

Cobb says Yosemite Falls, one of the park's favorite attractions, could go dry by June if there is no more rain or snow.

If you spent time on the water at Lake Tahoe last year and thought it looked a lot cloudier, you're right. UC Davis researchers say extreme weather — drought followed by heavy rains — caused clarity in 2017 to drop to its lowest recorded level.

Caltrans is worried about the possibility of dead trees falling onto some California highways. The agency has already removed 107,000 trees. Now the agency is getting ready to remove another 54,000 trees, including some on private land.

As the Central Valley correspondent, Rich Ibarra covers San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Merced counties, along with the foothill areas including Tuolumne and Calaveras counties. He covers politics, the economy and issues affecting the region. Read Full Bio